Chapter 95

“Who the fuck is that?” the man—Leo assumed he was Arnold Young—demanded.

“My friend Leo,” Nolan said.

“Well, tell your friend to go home. I never said you could have friends over.” He turned when a buxom redhead walked out of the house to stand next to him. Nolan’s father put his arm around her waist. “Just a second, baby.”

“Let’s get your stuff,” Leo said.

Nolan had gone pale. “Yeah.”

His father looked sharply at Leo. “What the hell is going on here, boy?”

“Well, I’m moving out.”

The old man laughed. “Yeah, right.”

“It’s true.” Nolan stood straighter, which made Leo proud of him. “I’m moving into Galaxy Winthrop’s house. This is his brother.”

“Winthrop? That faggot artist?”

Nolan flinched next to him, but didn’t respond to his father’s jab.

Leo rested his hand on Nolan’s arm. “Let’s just get this over with. The sooner we’re out of here the better.”

“You a fag, too, Winthrop?”

Leo felt the muscle in his jaw tick. “I’m gay. So what, Mayor?”

“I don’t want my boy hanging around with homos. He knows better than that.”

“Leo, let’s just go inside,” Nolan whispered.

It was on the tip of his tongue to tell the stupid bastard he’d slept with his son. But Leo couldn’t do that to Nolan. It was up to him as to what he told his father. Leo couldn’t make those choices for him.

He followed Nolan to the front door past his father.

“Boy, if you take your stuff out of my house and go with this fag, you won’t come home again. You hear me?”

“I hear you,” Nolan said in a low voice.

They entered the house and Leo followed him up the stairs to the second floor where Nolan’s bedroom was. Leo braced himself, expecting Arnold Young to come up and harass them. No matter what, he would stop him from hurting Nolan.

“Your dad doesn’t own a gun, does he?” Leo decided he couldn’t be too careful. Of course, if he found out the man did have a gun he couldn’t figure out what the hell he’d do about it.

Nolan shook his head and started stuffing clothes in a pillowcase.

Leo went to the bedroom door and stood by it, holding the door open.

“He won’t do anything in front of people, Leo. You don’t have to worry.”

“No?”

“He’s still mayor and wants to win re-election next year, for one thing. And besides, he’s the type that bullies and abuses in private.”

Nolan spoke very matter-of-factly, like he could have been talking about an acquaintance he knew instead of himself and his father. Leo supposed it was his way of trying to handle things. Everyone had different ways.

He watched as Nolan packed his laptop in a carrying case and then shoved several textbooks and notebooks into a backpack.

“Is there anywhere else in the house you have something you want to bring?”

“No. This is it. He can have everything else.”

When they reached the top of the stairs, Arnold Young was standing at the bottom, glaring up at them.

“You think you can just leave?”

“Yes,” Nolan said.

“I’ll cut you off. No money. I won’t pay for your school. Or your car insurance. You think you can keep driving that Mustang without insurance?”

“I’m getting a job.”

His father laughed. “Oh, sure. Good luck with that. You’ve never had to do real work a day in your life. Go on then. Get out. See how you do. You gonna suck this fag’s cock to pay your rent?”

Nolan’s face had turned red and blotchy but he didn’t respond. He just walked down the stairs and past his father without a word. It took everything in Leo to not smash the bastard’s face in as he left the house.

Arnold followed them out though, all the way to Nolan’s Mustang as Nolan opened the trunk to load his stuff. “I’d only drive it to your new home, if I were you. Because I’m going to call and cancel the insurance as soon as you leave. I’ll tell the cops to watch for you and pull you over if they see you driving it.”

“I’ll get insurance,” Nolan insisted.

“Nolan, you get your ass back in that house right now and I’ll forget all about this. But if you drive away, I’ll make you sorry.”

Nolan just shook his head and turned to Leo. “Ready?”

“Yeah.” Leo got on his bike and reached for his helmet as he watched Nolan get in his car.

“Nolan!” Arnold yelled, kicking at the Mustang. “You piece of shit! I’ll fucking kill you, boy. Nobody leaves me.”

But Nolan started the engine and pulled away from curb, and Leo stuck his helmet on his head and drove off after him.